[i]Two Days Prior[/i]

[i]Bang[/i]! The bullet slammed against the back wall, the noise echoing mockingly in the makeshift shooting range Eli had made. "Fuck." Eli glared at the pristine target down range, a dozen or more shots scattering along the wall behind it. He was supposed to be ready to take on whatever was so important that it killed Hex, and he couldn't even hit an immobile target. He'd been at this for most of the day already, preparing for a fight. Or so he thought. Right now it looked like he was planning a comedy routine so that this 'Reality Bringer' could laugh to death. He scowled and took aim again, focusing on the target. He was just rusty,that's all it was. Twenty years of not firing a weapon or getting in a fight would do that too you. Just a few more shots and he'd be back to his old self. [i]Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang![/i] Eli emptied his clip taking what he thought were carefully aimed shots. All but one crashed into the back wall the cacophony of noise ridiculing him as the target swayed gently back and forth, a small hole on the very edge. 

Alright. That was enough.

Eli slammed the pistol down as his right arm began to writhe and shift with squelching and cracking noises as it changed to what he needed it to be. The stupid fucking sign wanted to make fun of him? He'd give it something to laugh at. He pulled back and threw his arm forward like a pitcher in a baseball stadium. Sharp claws had formed on the end of his fingers and his arm extended forward at a breakneck pace. Eli thinned and shortened as he used his own body to extend his arm the necessary distance. He put out his free hand to balance himself against the table as he began to lose the muscles to keep standing without aid, eyes narrowed in focus. His claws tore through the target with a satisfying ripping noise. Eli gave a small smirk in satisfaction. [i]I was just a little rusty. That's a-[/i] His smug thoughts were interrupted as the pain hit him. Eli gasped in surprise as his body burned, everything screaming out against the stress he was putting it through. He yanked his arm back, gritting his teeth as the pain redoubled. He stumbled backwards as his arm slammed back into its normal shape and he fell to one knee, breathing heavily and shaking. 

He'd become an old man. Twenty, thirty years ago that wouldn't have even made him break a sweat. Hell, that long ago he wouldn't have even [i]needed[/i] to practice. He would have just marched over to this Special Agent and demanded what she knew so he could go gut the bastards for threatening the world and through it him. After collecting a pretty penny from someone, of course. Now he couldn't even hit a paper target or use a basic attack without missing or his body failing him. Well, what had he expected? That after moping and hiding for twenty years his body would just maintain its fighting shape as it always had? Ridiculous. 

Eli pulled himself to standing with a groan of pain. Everything ached, but at least it wasn't burning anymore. He rolled his shoulders and frowned as his right one ground to a painful stop. Had he not....? He moved it a couple more times, his scowl deepening. He hadn't put it back together right. He [i]was[/i] an old man. "For fucks sake." He closed his eyes and focused for a moment. His shoulder cracked loudly as the bone broke and reset itself and he winced. 

He gave a sigh as he went and picked up his pistol. This was as good as he was gonna get. Might as well head to the coordinates now. He'd be early, since he knew Cedar Fort fairly well from his mercenary days, but that'd give him a chance to scope out whoever was waiting for them and who answered the call.

[i]Present time[/i]

He no longer knew Cedar Fort. 

In the twenty years he'd been gone, the city had drastically changed and he no longer knew it well enough to find his way in a timely manner. Because [i]of course[/i] it had changed. Cities do that. Just chalk it up to something else he'd allowed himself to let slip in his old age. He'd spent the past day and a half just trying to orientate himself to the coordinates, rather than scoping the area out and getting the jump on anyone that appeared like he'd planned. The city was even more massive than it had been twenty years ago, with the same breathtaking beauty and poverty that had always classified it. Only now things were even worse. He had accidentally wandered into the defunct subway systems and the desperate people down there thought he would be an easy mark. An old man with some guns? They could take him and sell the valuables. 

The smart ones ran away after he killed and absorbed the first two. The rest met the same fate. The police were likely already in the pocket of the wealthy few, so he wasn't surprised to find the rats scurrying in the dark. He was surprised that they were allowed to dig in so much rather than being beaten out by the cops. Maybe they'd gotten soft in the decades he'd been gone. 

Eli finally made it to the meeting place, the two cars and voices indicating that he was late. "So much for getting the jump on people." He muttered, pulling his battle rifle out. He didn't bother with generating his costume. He couldn't make the armor useful on a large scale anymore, and anyone who answered this all already knew who he was. His trial had been massively public after all and his identity was readily available to anyone who bothered to do a quick search. 

So Eli walked into the small light of the campfire, and quickly took a glance around. He was mostly disheartened. There was that Avant-Garde. Some freak that made his paintings come to life, a murderer who claimed to be fighting for the people against the corporations. He'd only become active after Eli had gone underground, so they'd never fought, but what little information Eli had of him wasn't impressive. It wasn't that he was a murderer, Eli himself was. It was that he tried to pretend he was a hero at the same time he committed acts of terrorism. The hypocrisy was palatable. Next was someone in black glowing armor and face tattoos. His face was vaguely familiar, but Eli had no recollection of working against or with him. A nobody then. Useless. 

Eli's paused briefly on [i]The Tower[/i]. That was someone he recognized personally. Their exchanges had been brief, as it was towards the end of Eli's career, but at least it was someone who he knew could handle themselves. Young and headstrong though, still a kid. Not someone to rely too much on. Didn't he have a partner he always worked with? Some girl? No matter. She, if he was even remembering the right person, wasn't here. 

It was with great relief that Eli noted Stardust. Finally, someone he knew was experienced. A goody-two shoes like Hex, maybe, but he knew from personal experience that she could put up a hell of a fight and that she had enough experience not to crack under pressure. They had fought many times, as he was usually on the side of the corporations she was trying to bring to justice, but they could put that behind them for the Reality Bringer. He hoped.

"So this is all that answered your call? An old man twenty years retired, A terrorist dressing himself as a hero, a nobody who likes shiny black armor, an old woman who hasn't super heroed for almost as long as I have, and a young kid whose more robot than man at this point?" He snorted. "This is gonna be a short revenge/save the world mission isn't it?"

He nodded at Stardust. "Nice to see a reliable face."

"So, Reynolds. Aside from the fact that Hex is dead and a sob story, what do you have for us?"